THSH to support local rising stars at the first annual Birmingham Music Awards

Friday 26th Jan 2018

Birmingham Music Awards have today announced that Town Hall and Symphony Hall will sponsor their Rising Star Award, identifying outstanding emerging artists from the Midlands.

The awards, which will be held at The Glee Club in May, are the only city-based awards to exclusively celebrate music achievement and reward the best of Birmingham’s musicians and contributors to the music business. The event promises to bring together high-profile artists, labels, managers, publishers, producers and the music media for an evening of live music, networking and recognition.

Birmingham is steeped in rich musical heritage, bursting with talent, education institutions and some of the best live music venues in the world including the iconic landmark, Town Hall and world-renowned acoustic, Symphony Hall.

We are thrilled to be supporting Birmingham Music Awards in recognising the emerging local talent this city has to offer. I hope that winners of this Rising Star Award will one day be headlining sell-out solo concerts in Symphony Hall following in the footsteps of artists including Kraftwerk, Robert Plant and Beverley Knight.

Nick Reed, Chief Executive Officer for Town Hall Symphony Hall

It’s a huge ‘nod’ for the BMAs that THSH have aligned themselves with our mission to support and recognise Birmingham musicians and contributors to music. We are so looking forward to working together as a force for Birmingham music success.

Jo Jeffries, BMA Founder

Birmingham played a crucial part in my music journey. As a boy with a dream, I would travel here to follow and learn from the rock and metal scene, then I came back time and again for 25 years to play in all the city’s iconic music venues with Skunk Anansie. It’s great to see THSH on board and giving back to aspiring musicians with us for the Birmingham Music Awards. This is a very exciting new initiative for the city.

BMA Ambassador Martin ‘Ace’ Kent from iconic rock band Skunk Anansie

Town Hall and Symphony Hall has a history of supporting talented young musicians. THSH is currently working with the first-ever recipient of BIMM’s Tony Iommi Scholarship. First year degree student, James Attwood is THSH’s Project SoundLounge Fellow and will lead a team of young people to program, produce and market their very own music festival in 2018.

In addition to Project Soundlounge, Birmingham based female instrumentalists and vocalists aged from 16-25 gain musical and professional development through the Women in Jazz Programme.